Grain Store Restaurant - City of Edinburgh

Head up the modern staircase to find this easy-going restaurant in a series of vaulted chambers that once served as a grain storeroom. Bare stone walls, superb arched sash windows, stripped wood floors and rustic tables make a suitably intimate setting, helped along by evening candlelight; from the windows you can watch the action on the cobbled street below.

Seasonal Scottish produce is given up-to-the-minute treatment in the kitchen: ceviche of scallops is served with cucumber jelly, roast grouse comes with celeriac purée, gin and juniper, while ribeye of Aberdeen Angus beef might appear with trompette mushrooms and pancetta.

Among the homemade desserts, look for chocolate and lavender tart with clotted cream or prosecco jelly with shortbread. Cheeses are from Iain Mellis, whose shop is next door to the restaurant. The neatly assembled wine list covers most bases, from the familiar and quaffable to the daringly decadent.